Virgin awarded top employer at awards

VIRGIN Australia has claimed the title of most attractive employer in the travel and aviation industry at the annual Randstad Awards, and was awarded third place for most attractive employer in Australia for 2012.

Virgin Australia was the only airline to appear in the 2012 Randstad Awards Top 20 list for the most attractive companies in the country.

The announcement, made in front of senior executives and HR directors from Australia's 150 largest employers, revealed for the second year which companies were voted the most attractive by more than 7,000 Australians of working age.

The Randstad Awards, which survey the perceptions of 100,000 people globally, are unrivalled locally and internationally, with companies unable to nominate themselves or determine the categories and criteria for entry.

Randstad CEO, Fred van der Tang, commented on Virgin Australia's impressive result for the second year running: "Virgin Australia's strong employer brand gives it a natural advantage over its competitors," said Mr van der Tang.

"The airline is perceived to have a pleasant working atmosphere, actually one of the highest ratings in the country overall, as well as interesting job content and excellent training and development opportunities."

Overall the travel and aviation industry performed well this year, with Virgin Australia ranked 3rd in the Top 20 most attractive companies, followed by Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group in 10th place. Aviation was considered one of the top three most attractive sectors in the country.

The results of the Randstad Awards are invaluable to Australian employers in understanding what attracts people to their organisation, particularly at a time of limited talent pools and in striving to win a competitive edge in the race for talent.

"People are attracted to companies for a number of reasons, which can be analysed according to what men and women want, what different generations are looking for, and even according to the differing priorities of people who are single, married or have young families," said Mr van der Tang.

"What's also interesting is how long term job security and the financial health of a company clearly increased in importance across the board, in times of economic uncertainty, while in times of boom and profitability, competitive salary, employee benefits, work life balance and a pleasant working atmosphere become more pertinent to those considering a shift in career.

"The war for talent is on a steep incline and those organisations that attract, engage and retain the best talent are ultimately those that will be most successful," Mr van der Tang said.

"In very simple terms, building an employer brand is about creating 'fans' within your business. You want your employees to be ambassadors for your brand, raving about how great it is to work for your organisation, whether it's at a corporate event or on the sidelines at the kids' weekend sporting match."